Hiyama on his biggest research challenge: “Because C–Si bonds are quite stable in general, nucleophilic activation is essential for transmetalation from silicon to transition metals. This is the key of the silicon-based palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction and is applied to rhodium-catalyzed conjugate addition of organosilicon reagents to enones and enamides. Naturally, activation of more stable C–H or C–C bonds using transition-metal catalysts is the next challenge for making new C–C bonds.”

What his colleagues say: “Although the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2010 was given for contributions to palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, Tamejiro’s contributions to expand the approach to silicon-based cross-couplings are similarly remarkable. This was indeed a dream for many organosilicon chemists. Since this discovery in 1988, he has devoted himself to exploring the potential of silicon-based cross-couplings, inventing new reactions that have raised the synthetic value of silicon chemistry in organic syntheses. Needless to say, the reaction is now called Hiyama coupling.”—Ei-ichi Negishi, Purdue University